Re: Share your concerns about Social Security

I received a back award of 35000, on my social security disability ward plus my monthly payment. I am being taxed on $ 55000. I'm scared to death to get my taxes done. I wasn't aware that I would have to pay taxes on this income

In a nutshell - you may or may not be taxed on some or all of your SSDI benefit because the the amount of your benefit that is taxable depends on how much you have in other income.

However, in your case since it was a back award - did this amount cover several years? You may have to go back and amend old returns - consult an IRS Certified Enrolled Agent or a Tax Professional.

Social security benefits include monthly retirement, survivor and disability benefits.

The net amount of social security benefits that you receive from the Social Security Administration is reported in Box 5 of Form SSA-1099, Social Security Benefit Statement, and you report that amount on your income tax return (Form 1040, line 20a or Form 1040A, Line 14a).

The taxable portion of the benefits that's included in your income and used to calculate your income tax liability depends on the total amount of your income and benefits for the taxable year. You report the taxable portion of your social security benefits on Form 1040, line 20b or Form 1040A, line 14b.

To find out whether any of your benefits may be taxable, compare the base amount for your filing status with the total of:

One-half of your benefits; plus

All of your other income, including tax-exempt interest.

The base amount for your filing status is:

$25,000 if you're single, head of household, or qualifying widow(er),

$25,000 if you're married filing separately and lived apart from your spouse for the entire year,

$32,000 if you're married filing jointly,

$0 if you're married filing separately and lived with your spouse at any time during the tax year.

If you're married and file a joint return, you and your spouse must combine your incomes and social security benefits when figuring the taxable portion of your benefits. Even if your spouse didn't receive any benefits, you must add your spouse's income to yours when figuring on a joint return if any of your benefits are taxable.

Re: Share your concerns about Social Security

I received a back award of 35000, on my social security disability ward plus my monthly payment. I am being taxed on $ 55000. I'm scared to death to get my taxes done. I wasn't aware that I would have to pay taxes on this income

Re: Share your concerns about Social Security

On the monies going out - I am confused: How many folks are collecting Social Security Disability dishonestly? This includes those billboards in West VA whereby a lawyer offers to help people collect (hmmmm) to illegal immigrants coming in and getting on disability (can they?). I saw a YouTube called: Dearborne Michigan about all the (HAPPENS to be Moslems) coming here and going on Medicaid and Social Security, have 5 kids, driving Mercedes, refusing to learn the language....

SO QUestion: as we being taken for fools? I ASK this as I learn corporate America has massive age discrimination, I can NOT get hired back into my old career parth (this started at age 58 and I'm now 63) and so LOOKING at filing....to learn that BECAUSE Social Security is going broke, our professional career politicians passed something in the cloak of night that IF I make OVER poverty level, I have to pay BACK $1 for every $2 of social Security benefits I earn. REALLY? THIS IS EVIL, malfeasance, dispictable.....(BOTH sides of the aisle have allowed this - our "Professional Career politicians" ALL prance away multi-millionaires with guaranteed lifetime pensions and healthcare WHILE compromise OUR quality of income in old age???? Very angry.

Re: Share your concerns about Social Security

If you are fully vetted in STRS and your retirement will be a "decent" amount... (usually somewhere about 50% of what you were earning as a full time teacher if you have 25 to 30 years in) then your Social Security earnings will be reduced by 75%. It is all confusing, because the amount you earn and the number of quarters in SS determines the amount. I believe you can go to a Social Security Office and present your information ahead of time, and they should be able to give you a reasonable estimate. California teachers are the only ones who cannot receive what everyone else does... if you worked for the Fed's or Per's you can receive your full amount of Social Security. I thought about going back to work to earn more quarters (as I didn't have the minimum) to strengthen my teacher retirement, but after looking at it and doing a little arithmetic... I found it much more profitable to teach part time (a college class or two online...) than work all that time for maybe $107 a month in additional retirement.

Re: Share your concerns about Social Security

I agree. I taught in California and just went to the retirement seminar and was surprised to learn that my SS benefit will be reduced. We are the only ones in this category.

My main concern is that I plan to work in a different field, have not contributed to SS since I was in my mid 20's. My benefit is going to be around $175/mo. without added contributions and I am curious what/how much it will increase/be affected by added contributions.

I believe I will earn about 25,000 annually for another 7 or 8 years. * I retired early from teaching and will delay my payout from State Retirement in order to max it out- thus the need to keep working.

Re: Share your fears about Social Security

Look into the "Extra Help" benefit with Medicare. Depending on your income (mine wwas less than $800) you can qualify to get your Part D premiums paid for and a BIG reduction on your drug costs. Mine are $3.30 for generic and I think, $8.00 for brand names. I got a refund check on a generic that was costing me $104.30. Now it is $3.30!!! Easy to apply, do it online and hear back in less than a month. It is retroactive to time you applied, so hence, the refund. Recycled to medical bills but very welcomed boost.

Re: Share your concerns about Social Security

Yep, you are right, kleino, we are just flat broke - but what do numbers matter? !?

We could have a real lockbox for an account for each person that has ever paid a nickel into the SS system with all the numbers of contributions and any earnings but if there is no money anywhere to back it up -'is it really there at all?

So that everybody understands your comment about it paying out more than it is taking in, as the SS Actuaries talk about it, this means that payroll tax contributions do not fully cover the benefits being paid out. Now we are relying upon the other income coming into the program yearly to make up the difference and add a very small amount to the Trust Fund reserve. We use to buy these special treasuries for excessive income into the program to earn interest, but now we have to use this income from these treasuries to meet the benefits.

But again you are right, these are only numbers in a specific account when in reality the U.S. Is surviving off debt. Let's just hope the creditors don't come to collect.

The federal government has taken the cash from the social security fund and replaced it with Treasury Securities. However, if Social Security is cash negative (pays out more than it takes in) and the US Government as a whole is cash negative (i.e. budget deficits year after year), my pencil cannot figure where the cash will come from to redeem the Treasury securities. Perhaps we will borrow more from the Chinese, if they are willing to lend.Larry Klein CPA,retired